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Feb 15, 2013
02/13
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it doesn't take us long to put us into areas of content contention. some have stepped back and said, let's look at how we can effectively manage the situation. noaa is working with the river forecasts center in salt lake city and others to make certain that we are clear on what that looks like. to be perfectly honest, given the uncertainty, there are issues in our insurance. where the conservation reserve program come in his admission that we are uncertain about the future and it leaves us the flexibility. that is the richest contribution from the standpoint of what weather and climate is doing. >> thank you, madame jo. >> thank you very much. senator, welcome. >> thank you, madam chair. i am pleased to join this honorable committee today. the last time a massachusetts senator sat on the committee was in 1879. i am only a third senator to serve on this committee. so if you are wondering why i'm here, i want to tell you that we in massachusetts are not unfamiliar with our culture issues and the importance of our culture to this nation and the commonwea
it doesn't take us long to put us into areas of content contention. some have stepped back and said, let's look at how we can effectively manage the situation. noaa is working with the river forecasts center in salt lake city and others to make certain that we are clear on what that looks like. to be perfectly honest, given the uncertainty, there are issues in our insurance. where the conservation reserve program come in his admission that we are uncertain about the future and it leaves us the...
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Feb 7, 2013
02/13
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joining with us. on the republican side, we had senator alexander and senator kyl and senator barrasso joining senator mccain and i. and it was really one of the, i believe, most important things that we've done in recent years here, which is to, number one, change the procedures. they weren't working. they were being used to frustrate efforts to get legislation to the floor. we had to do that. we had to do something to change the rules which were being misused in terms of postcloture hours on judges that were going to be approved by votes of 95-1 or 95-2 and those postcloture hours were being used to stall the senate. and we took care of that situation. we acted on a bipartisan basis and hopefully that spirit of bipartisanship, which is so essential to making this place work, will continue, will be given a boost not just in what the leaders did in accepting our recommendations essentially on these procedural changes but will now apply and work with other efforts that are under way and will be under w
joining with us. on the republican side, we had senator alexander and senator kyl and senator barrasso joining senator mccain and i. and it was really one of the, i believe, most important things that we've done in recent years here, which is to, number one, change the procedures. they weren't working. they were being used to frustrate efforts to get legislation to the floor. we had to do that. we had to do something to change the rules which were being misused in terms of postcloture hours on...
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Feb 12, 2013
02/13
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america is for all of us, and we should protect all of us. this morning the senate has the opportunity to vote for an amendment that goes in the opposite direction from the coburn amendments and allows us to help more victims of serious crime in the united states and around the world. this morning the senate is voting on the traffic victims reauthorization act written with the input of victims and service providers. it makes critical improvements to existing law. last year this legislation had 57 cosponsors including 15 republicans. in particular i thank senator marco rubio of florida, who's been a strong cosponsor of this important measure. today is february 12. this is a day in which abraham lincoln was born. it was 150 years ago that he delivered the emancipation proclamation. i think it would be fitting that the senate pass the trafficking victims protection reauthorization act on his birthday. although the 13th amendment to our constitution was ratified long ago that made slavery illegal, we continue to fight human trafficking, and human
america is for all of us, and we should protect all of us. this morning the senate has the opportunity to vote for an amendment that goes in the opposite direction from the coburn amendments and allows us to help more victims of serious crime in the united states and around the world. this morning the senate is voting on the traffic victims reauthorization act written with the input of victims and service providers. it makes critical improvements to existing law. last year this legislation had...
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Feb 7, 2013
02/13
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jesus is there to guide us. the holy spirit, to help us. love the lord god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. love your neighbor as yourself. seeing everyone, even in those with whom you disagree most vehemently, the face of god, for we are all his children. that's what i thought of as a took the oath of office a few weeks ago, and touched the final. >> the comfort that scripture gave lincoln and king, and so many leaders throughout our history. the verses they cherished and how those words of god are there for us as well, waiting to be read any day that we choose. i thought about how their faith gave them the strength to meet the challenge of their time, just as our faith can give us the strength to meet the challenges of ours. and most of all, i thought about their humility, and how we don't seem to live that out the way we should everyday, even when we give lip service to them. you know, as president sometimes i have to search for the words to console the inconsolable. sometimes i search scripture to deter
jesus is there to guide us. the holy spirit, to help us. love the lord god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. love your neighbor as yourself. seeing everyone, even in those with whom you disagree most vehemently, the face of god, for we are all his children. that's what i thought of as a took the oath of office a few weeks ago, and touched the final. >> the comfort that scripture gave lincoln and king, and so many leaders throughout our history. the verses...
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Feb 4, 2013
02/13
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they want us to stop it and they want us to expedite action on this bill. now, i remain strongly committed to the increase, they set out trying to include it in the immigration legislation we will be considering in the next couple of months. the reap i will do that, of course, it will benefit law enforcement and victims, and we should enact it. i have said so many times on this floor that i remember my days as a prosecutor of vermont. i remember going to crime scenes at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. i remember seeing people being taken out in an ambulance barely alive, within an inch of their life. but i especially remember those who didn't even get that far lying on the floor up against a wall, waiting for the medical examiner to come and pronounce the body dead, allow the police to collect evidence and move them. and, mr. president, during that time, no police officer ever said is this victim gay or straight, is this victim an immigrant or native american? they have said as i have said so many times on the floor, a victim is a victim is a victim. how do we
they want us to stop it and they want us to expedite action on this bill. now, i remain strongly committed to the increase, they set out trying to include it in the immigration legislation we will be considering in the next couple of months. the reap i will do that, of course, it will benefit law enforcement and victims, and we should enact it. i have said so many times on this floor that i remember my days as a prosecutor of vermont. i remember going to crime scenes at 2:00 or 3:00 in the...
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Feb 28, 2013
02/13
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trust us. trust us. and then here we waltz in less than two years later and the president is saying oh, no, we can't cut like we promised to cut, that i signed and i agreed to. oh, that's too much. the country -- and i'm not going to help you find a smarter, more effective way to do the cuts. you have got to use these cuts just like it was passed in the dead of night when the b.c.a. was passed. i don't think that's good policy. so what i urge my colleagues to do, and i believe it's the right thing, it's a decision we have no choice but to make, and that is that, mr. president, we're not going to give up this little spending cuts we achieve in 2011. really not spending cuts, is it? the little reduction in growth in spending we agreed to. we stand ready, and i'm confident i can speak for the republicans in this chamber. we stand ready to try to spread those cuts out in a way that's smarter and does -- and is less painful on any one organization because everybody should tighten their belt to help get this c
trust us. trust us. and then here we waltz in less than two years later and the president is saying oh, no, we can't cut like we promised to cut, that i signed and i agreed to. oh, that's too much. the country -- and i'm not going to help you find a smarter, more effective way to do the cuts. you have got to use these cuts just like it was passed in the dead of night when the b.c.a. was passed. i don't think that's good policy. so what i urge my colleagues to do, and i believe it's the right...
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Feb 27, 2013
02/13
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trust us, trust us, do it. so we just got back our report. and they conclude that there are several parts of the bill that project savings that will not occur, resulting in a shortfall of revenue over the life of the bill, and they indicate that it would add more than $6.2 trillion to the primary debt of the united states. in other words, you would -- it would take -- it's an unfunded liability of that much, it would take $6.2 trillion being deposited today, paying out over 20 years, over 75 years to supplement this program to keep it from failing. it will cost more than a dime. it will cost $6.2 trillion. it's another unsustainable program. it doesn't have dedicateed revenue. it's going to cost more than this, frankly, but this is the latest report that hammers this idea that it's not. so i guess what i'm saying is this is really serious. our total budget today is less than $4 trillion. this is going to add $6 trillion. our budget this year is about $3.7 trillion, $3.8 trillion. so as we spend, we take in about $2.5 trillion, we spend $3.7 t
trust us, trust us, do it. so we just got back our report. and they conclude that there are several parts of the bill that project savings that will not occur, resulting in a shortfall of revenue over the life of the bill, and they indicate that it would add more than $6.2 trillion to the primary debt of the united states. in other words, you would -- it would take -- it's an unfunded liability of that much, it would take $6.2 trillion being deposited today, paying out over 20 years, over 75...
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Feb 13, 2013
02/13
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that's what they've asked of us first. they'll work a way to be compassionate and realistic if that lawlessness is ended but that hasn't happened. and, in fact, we've gone in the opposite direction in a number of ways. improvement has occurred at the border in real numbers, because over the last several years before president obama took office, we agreed to to increase the norm of border patrol agents. i forced through, i say forced through, with the help of senator vitter to build a fence. senator vitter, you remember that debate. now everybody is talking about we've got a fence. it's about half the real fence that we asked for, and they're bragging about it. but don't you remember, senator vitter, how they opposed every foot of it, how they resisted every way possible and they didn't really favor adding border agents. you could kill that -- one way could you vote for border agents and i remember speaking about it but never produce the money. so we had authorized border agents, people said they were for border agents but
that's what they've asked of us first. they'll work a way to be compassionate and realistic if that lawlessness is ended but that hasn't happened. and, in fact, we've gone in the opposite direction in a number of ways. improvement has occurred at the border in real numbers, because over the last several years before president obama took office, we agreed to to increase the norm of border patrol agents. i forced through, i say forced through, with the help of senator vitter to build a fence....
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Feb 15, 2013
02/13
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way for us to think about this. it's not just economic growth for economic growth's sake, it's economic growth that's building a middle class again in this country. and i wonder if you have thoughts about how we might approach the discussions on the committee with that objective in mind. maybe it's not the right objective. >> senator, i think it is the right objective. i think in the president's speech last night he called it the north star that we need to always keep before us as we go through each of the component policy areas, and tax reform is one of those. i think we've made some progress. the tax bill that was passed in january did go a distance to restoring some equity in the distribution of the tax burden. i think the distribution of income has been a real problem. it's one -- it ought to be possible for somebody who works 40 hours a week to earn a decent wage. it ought to be possible for anyone who is willing to work hard to make it into the middle class. and, you know, we have a lot of work ahead of us, bu
way for us to think about this. it's not just economic growth for economic growth's sake, it's economic growth that's building a middle class again in this country. and i wonder if you have thoughts about how we might approach the discussions on the committee with that objective in mind. maybe it's not the right objective. >> senator, i think it is the right objective. i think in the president's speech last night he called it the north star that we need to always keep before us as we go...
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Feb 26, 2013
02/13
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no useful purpose. the only purpose is tax avoidance. and those are the loopholes which we can close, and those are the loopholes which it seems to me there ought to be broad, bipartisan support to close, and if we can close it, we can avoid sequestration. that's how big again these loopholes are. i very much appreciate the senator from vermont's reference to our permanent subcommittee on investigations and the work that we've been doing, and i very much appreciate the energy which he brings to this effort. it ought to be bipartisan. these kind of loopholes again are not what most people consider to be legitimate loopholes or deductions, excuse me -- legitimate deductions. but, again, they are the kind of tax avoidance schemes which should not be in the law, even if we had no deficit. i guess one of the critical differences between these kinds of tax gimmicks and the ordinary deductions which corporations take is the fact that the use of these -- and the abuse of these should be he woulde he would ela b
no useful purpose. the only purpose is tax avoidance. and those are the loopholes which we can close, and those are the loopholes which it seems to me there ought to be broad, bipartisan support to close, and if we can close it, we can avoid sequestration. that's how big again these loopholes are. i very much appreciate the senator from vermont's reference to our permanent subcommittee on investigations and the work that we've been doing, and i very much appreciate the energy which he brings to...